Gutter joint sealing means



May 19, 1953 R. E. BowLEs GUTTER JOINT SEALING MEANS Filed June 25, 1951Fig 2 Fig. 4

Patented May 19, 17953 UNITED STATE-s PATENTl OFFICE 2,638,858 GUTTERJoIVNT SEALING Richard E. Bowles, SilverrHill.'Md. Application June 25,1951, Serial No. 233,451

4 Claims. 1 j

The present invention relates to certain' new and useful improvements inWays and means for effectively and satisfactorily sealing lapped ends ofgutter sections used in constructing asemicircular eaves trough and hasmore particular reference to a simple and practical attachment f aready-made and ready-to-use type.

It is customary practice to bond the overlapping ends of the statedgutter sections Aby way of solder or an equivalent sealing compound.Making a satisfactory solder joint is, however, a painstaking and timeconsuming task. Some roofers and guttermen do not do the job well andthe ybond breaks and the trough or gutter soon leaks. rI'he object ofthe instant invention is, therefore, to pave the way for a superiorbonded seam or joint. In carrying out the principles of the invention,it has been found both desirable and practicable to ll the joints with amastic metal seal and to apply the latter by squeezing it between thelapped ends of the gutter section through the medium of a simple,readily applicable metal or equivalent joint bridging ban-d.

-An equally important object of the invention is to structurally,functionally and in other ways improve upon similarly made prior artconstructions and, in doing so, to thus provide a feasible andeconomical attachment in which manufacturers, roofers and others willfind their essential requirements and needs fully met and effectuallycontained.

With a view toward achieving these end results, a semi-circularsaddle-like band is employed and is exteriorly applied and clamped inplace, said band having its marginal edges formed with flanges to, inthis manner, provi-de a shallow pan.

The pan is charged with a layer of felt or equivalent material whichholds in place the aforementioned sealant, a satisfactory mastic metalseal, which is protectively covered and, when the cover has beenremoved, is squeezed by the clamping action of the band into the jointto effect the desired water-proof seal. l

Briefly summarized, a preferred embodiment of the invention has to dowith the stated sha1- low plan having an attaching hook `at one end,having lug means at the opposite end and a readily attachable clip whichis connectible with the lug means. The layer of felt and the sealingcompound is in the pan and the compound is covered with a protectivecovering of a type which can be readily peeled off when it is desired touse the device.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying sheet of drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved gutter joint sealingmeans which, as before stated,- is in the form of a readily applicableready-tQ-serve attachment.

Figure 2 is an enlarged -central cross-section taken on the line 2-,-2of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view showing the attachment applied to lappedgutter sections;

lFigure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4 4 ofFig-ure 5, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings by way of ref.- erence numerals andaccompanying lead lines, reference is made rst to Figure 3 wherein onegutter section is denoted by the numeral 6 and the complemental sectionby the numeral 1. These are conventional gutter sections and are 'of thesemi-circular or half-round type. The outer wall portions of the guttersections are provided wth customary rolled beads 8 and 9. In practicethe ends are lapped as shown best in Figure 4 and one end is denoted atl0 and the other one at Il. This is the customary way of forming ascalable joint. The improved saddlelike attachment is characterized by asemi-circular shallow pan Idenoted by the numeral I2. This comprises afiat strip of metal or equivalent material I4. The longitudinal edgesare dared or bent laterally, as at I6 and I8, to form retaining flangesand to transform the band into the stated shallow pan. A strip of feltpaper or an equivalent composition is fitted into the bottom of the panand this is denoted at 20. This strip is covered with the semi-plasticsealant compound 22 which is a known mastic metal seal and which, whensufficiently exposed to air, hardens and provides the desired leak-proofseam. There is suflicient of the compound in the pan to -be squeezed andproperly spread into the joint. The central portion yof the compound iscambered or formed with a slight crown 24 (see Figure 2) which aids inspreading the compound when the pan is tightly clamped on the guttersection in a manner to bridge the joint. The remaining layer of materialis a protective covering 26 which may be fabric or any suitable gummedmaterial which when ripped off eX- poses the available sealant compoun-d24. This covering may be said te be peelable and one end of the same isshown partly peeled olf, as denoted at 28 lin Figure 1. Incidentally,this type of covering is used on innertube patches. One

end of the pan or strip is provided with a return bend 30 providing ahook and this hook is engaged over the lapped inner `edges of thesections '6 and 1 as shown best in Figure 5. The other end portion isprovided with a rigid lub 32 having a keeper notch or hook 34 toaccommodate the resilient clip 36. This clip is U-shaped and the bightportion 38 has a slight bend 40 which engages 'in' the keeper, Thelateral arms 42-42 terminate -in hooks 44 which engage over the beads 8and 9 in the manner shown in Figures 4 and 5.

It will be obvious that when the specially made pan or band is appliedand clampedl in'place, the cover means 26 having been removed, thecompound or sealant 24 will be squeezed and spread into the joint, asdenoted at 46 in Figure 4. In due season it will set and harden. and thedesired seam or seal will be completed.

By having these attachments ready-made, they can be lcarried on thejobqand readily applied and allowed, of course, to stay permanently inplace. These attachments, too, are practicall devices for repairinggutters which vhave already been installed and where the' seam or jointhas broken loose.

It is thought that persons skilled in the art to which the inventionrelates will be able to obtain a vclear understanding of the inventionafter considering the description in yconnection with thedrawingsThereflore, a more lengthy description is regarded asunnecessary.

Minor changes in shape, size and arrangement of details coming withinthe iield of invention claimed may be resorted toin actual practice, ifdesired.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new* is: y y k 1. Anattachment for an eaves trough lapijoint comprising an arcuate jointbridging band having laterally bent longitudinal edges form- 4 ingflanges and transforming the band into a shallow pan, mastic sealantcompound in said pan, `and a readily removable protective covering forsaid compound` said pan being provided at opposite ends with meanswhereby the same may be removably clamped on coacting gutter sections.

2. The structure specified in claim 1, wherein said sealant compound has1a central raised crown and said covering is peelable to render itreadily removable to expose the lcompound for use.

3. An attachment for an eaves trough lapjoint comprising a semi-circularshallow pan having means at opposite ends for attaching and clamping thepan in position on the trough section, a layer of felt inserted in saidpan and forming a foundation, a layer of sealant compound spread on thetop surface of said felt foundation, and readily removable coveringmeans for said sealant compound.

4. An atta-chment for the lapped ends of semicircular gutter sectionscomprisingasemi-circular metal band having lateral marginal flangesforming a shallow pan, an insert of felt material fitted into said pan,a layer of mastic metal sealant material spread on and covering saidfelt material, said pan being provided at one end with an at taohinghook, being provided at the opposite end with a lug, and a hook-equippedclip detachably connectable with said lug.

RICHARD E. BOWLES.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

